April 12, 2011 – (Motor Sports Newswire) –LIVESTRONG® is pleased to announce the addition of champion motocross athlete, Ryan Dungey, to the organization’s Global Envoy program. As a LIVESTRONG Global Envoy, Dungey serves as a committed cancer advocate who connects with constituents and demonstrates extraordinary leadership in the global fight against cancer. Dungey gives a voice to the diagnosed who suffer in silence. He takes a stand against cultural stigma attached to cancer and helps to spur grassroots mobilization.

“Getting involved with LIVESTRONG and the fight against cancer is a special opportunity for me,” said Dungey, a native of Belle Plaine, Minn., who makes his home in Tallahassee, Fla. “I lost my grandmother to cancer before I turned pro and vowed to not only do something with my career but to also do whatever I can to find a cure to this terrible disease. LIVESTRONG not only helps to fight cancer but also helps those who are lucky enough to survive it.”

Dungey, 21, earned the prestigious title of 2010 Supercross Champion, a significant accomplishment for his inaugural season. Dungey has achieved tremendous success as a pro, winning every championship he’s competed in since 2009 and capturing every title offered in the sport. As a Nike athlete, Dungey is already an integral part of the unified LIVESTRONG movement against cancer. An advocate of the LIVESTRONG philosophy, Dungey is determined to help raise awareness of this disease that took his grandmother’s life in 2005. His career is dedicated to her memory.

The addition of Dungey, who will help the foundation expand its outreach and impact to young adult audiences, comes during National Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week, Apr. 4-10, 2011. Each year, nearly 70,000 young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer. This demographic has not seen an increase in survival rates in more than 30 years. Young survivors are often caught between the worlds of pediatric and adult oncology. Factors that impact survivorship in young adults include lack of insurance, less participation in clinical trials and delayed diagnoses. They may face a variety of unique long-term effects that will need to be addressed over their lifetimes, such as reentry into school or the workforce, insurance coverage issues, infertility as a result of treatment, neurocognitive effects or secondary malignancies.

In honor of this special week, the LIVESTRONG community is coming together to support teens and young adults with cancer by teaming up with URDB World Records on a project called Break Cancer. Survivors and supporters all across the country are posting videos, pictures, and write-ups of their attempts to set or break a world record to raise young adult cancer awareness. By posting and sharing these records, people are breaking down the barriers that keep young people from getting the support and services they need. Dungey will be posting about his attempt to “break cancer” on the LIVESTRONG blog this Fri., Apr. 8.

LIVESTRONG is the brand of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, created in 1997 by the cancer survivor and champion cyclist to serve people living with cancer and empower communities to take action. LIVESTRONG also supports the young adult cancer community through the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance, a coalition of organizations with the goal to improve the survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40. The Alliance is committed to promoting research and the investigation of the problem, serving as a voice for the issue and promoting effective solutions. The LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance was formed with the knowledge that unity is strength and by working together awareness can be raised to effect positive change for young adults with cancer.

About LIVESTRONG/Lance Armstrong FoundationLIVESTRONG serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world’s leading cause of death. Created as the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the organization is now known publicly by its powerful brand — LIVESTRONG — and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. Known for its iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONG has become a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer around the world. Since its inception, the organization has raised more than $400 million for the fight against cancer. For more information, visit LIVESTRONG.org.